• AllianceBernstein selected to manage Target Date Funds
• First Ethical Target Date Funds offered to members
• Immediate cost reductions to the Flexible Retirement Plan, with further reductions to other TPT DC Schemes in the near future
The Pensions Trust, one of the leading occupational pension providers in the UK for the third sector, today announces that AllianceBernstein has been selected for its new auto-enrolment offering ‘SmarterPensions’ which will be launched in March 2013.
SmarterPensions, The Pensions Trust’s new defined contribution (DC) concept, will provide the platform for its ‘qualifying workplace pension schemes’ and will offer auto-enrolment compliant DC schemes. The SmarterPensions schemes will use AllianceBernstein’s Target Date Funds strategy as a default to ensure a more tailored investment approach for members. The Pensions Trust will also offer Ethical Fund options including Ethical Target Date Funds, which are believed to be the first of their kind offered in the UK and will use the FTSE4GoodFunds and UK government gilts to provide the required growth and risk characteristics.
Stephen Nichols, Chief Executive of The Pensions Trust, said: “The Pensions Trust, with its investment provider AllianceBernstein believes that if people are not going to be disappointed with their pensions, they must have an investment product which is flexible and adaptable, aiming to change according to circumstances. As a result, we have picked Target Date Funds as the optimum default fund solution for those looking to save for retirement.”
Tim Banks, Head of DC Client Relations at AllianceBernstein, added: “We are delighted that The Pensions Trust has chosen our Target Date Funds range as the new default strategy for SmarterPensions. Target Date Funds are becoming the default fund of choice as trustees value the greater investment sophistication, flexibility and straightforward processes when selecting the best pension outcome for their members. In addition to our innovative Target Date Funds range, we will also be providing, what we believe to be, the first Ethical Target Date Funds range in the UK for those employers accessing the ethical option.”
SmarterPensions will also provide extensive member and employer services and support, with online 24 hour live access to member information, online modellers and investment information. In addition, members will also receive an integrated annuity service. For employers, they will receive comprehensive auto-enrolment support and efficient eBusiness administration for contributions.
In conjunction with the launch of SmarterPensions, The Pensions Trust has also considered its current DC products and costs, and today announces an immediate change to its pricing structure. The Pensions Trust will no longer charge employers an annual fee for its Flexible Retirement Plan. In addition, the Annual Management Charge (AMC) for the Flexible Retirement Plan is reduced to 50 basis points. This will reduce further with the roll out of the SmarterPensions platform in early 2013. There will be similar reductions in the AMC for its Ethical Fund and Growth Plan DC products as well as its multi-employer DC Schemes: the Social Housing Pension Scheme (SHPS) DC and The CARE Scheme DC, to be announced in due course.
Stephen Nichols continued: “We genuinely believe in the need for people who work in the charitable and not-for-profit sectors to have the quality of life in retirement that a decent pension offers. We also understand the needs of the employers in our sector too – after all we are not-for-profit ourselves. Employers want to be able to offer their employees the decent pension benefits that a good employer should whilst reducing their costs and administrative burdens. On top of all this they also want to be able to deal with the requirements of auto-enrolment in a simple and hassle free way. The innovative SmarterPensions platform will enable this.”
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